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Chinese science fiction (traditional Chinese:科學幻想,simplified Chinese:科学幻想,pinyin:kēxué huànxiǎng, commonly abbreviated to科幻kēhuàn, literallyscientific fantasy) is genre of literature that concerns itself with hypothetical future social and technological developments in theSinosphere.

Science fiction in China was initially popularized through translations of Western authors during the late-Qing dynasty by proponents of Western-style modernization such asLiang Qichao andKang Youwei as a tool to spur technological innovation and scientific progress.

With his translation ofJules Verne's 1888 novelTwo Years' Vacation into Classical Chinese (asFifteen Little Heroes),Liang Qichao became one of the first and most influential advocates of science fiction in Chinese.

In 1903,Lu Xun, who later became famous for his darkly satirical essays and short stories, translated Jules Verne'sFrom the Earth to the Moon andJourney to the Centre of the Earth fromJapanese intoClassical Chinese (rendering it in the traditionalzhang wei ban style and adding expository notes) while studying medicine at theKobun Institute (弘文學院Kobun Gakuin) in Japan. He would continue to translate many of Verne's andH. G. Wells's classic stories, nationally popularizing these through periodical publication.

Late Qing-era reformist intellectuals used the foreign genre of science fiction to project theirteleological view of national rejuvenation and technological development.^[1]: 514

The earliest work of original science fiction in Chinese is believed to be the unfinished novelLunar Colony (月球殖民地小說), published in 1904 by an unknown author under the pen nameOld Fisherman of the Secluded River (荒江釣叟).^[2] The story concerns Long Menghua, who flees China with his wife after killing a government official who was harassing his wife's family. The ship they escape on is accidentally sunk and Long's wife disappears. However, Long is rescued by Otoro Tama, the Japanese inventor of adirigible who helps him travel to Southeast Asia searching for his wife. They join with a group of anti-Qing martial artists to rescue her from bandits. Deciding that the nations of the world are too corrupt, they all travel to the Moon and establish a new colony.^[3]

• 1902Xin Zhongguo weilai ji
• 1908New Era (novel)
• 1910Xin Zhongguo

Following the collapse of the Qing-dynasty in 1911, China went through a series of dramatic social and political changes which affected the genre of science fiction tremendously. Following theMay Fourth Movement in 1919written vernacular Chinese began to replaceClassical Chinese as the written language of the Chinese mainland in addition to Chinese-speaking communities around the world. China's earliest purely literary periodical,Forest of Fiction (小說林), founded byXu Nianci, not only published translated science fiction, but also original science fiction such asA Tale of New Mr. Braggadocio (新法螺先生譚).^[4] Meanwhile,Lao She employed science fiction for the purpose of social criticism in his science fiction novelCat Country which was also published during this time period.

Following theChinese Civil War (1945–1949) and the establishment of thePeople's Republic of China on the Chinese mainland, works with an ethos ofsocialist realism inspired bySoviet science fiction became more common while others works were suppressed. Still, many original works were created during this time, particularly ones with "popular science" approach aim to popularize science among younger readers and promote the country's "wonderful socialist future." A surge of science fantasy writing, which emphasized technological marvels and novelties, occurred from the mid-1950s to the 1960s.^[5]: 201 Academic Rudolf Wagner writes that this trend was influenced by the Marching Toward Science campaign.^[5]: 201

Zheng Wenguang in particular is known as the 'father of Chinese science fiction' for his writings during this period up until the beginning ofCultural Revolution (1966–1976) when the printing of non-revolutionary literature was suspended.

During theCultural Revolution, very little literature was printed and science fiction essentially disappeared in mainland China. However, following the March 1978 National Science Congress convened by theCentral Committee and theState Council and its proclamation that "science's spring has come," a greater enthusiasm for popular science (and thus science fiction) followed, with the publication of the children's novelYe Yonglie'sXiao Lingtong's Travels in the Future (小灵通漫游未来) in the same year as the 1978 National Science Congress marked a revival of science fiction literature in China.^{[citation needed]}

In 1979, the newly founded magazineScientific Literature (科学文艺) began publishing translations and original science fiction andZheng Wenguang again devoted himself to writing science fiction during this period.Tong Enzheng wroteDeath Ray on a Coral Island, which was later adapted into China's first science fiction movie.^[6] Other important writers from this time period includeLiu Xingshi,Wang Xiaoda, and Hong Kong authorNi Kuang. In his monograph, Rudolf G. Wagner argues during this brief rebirth of science fiction in China scientists used the genre to symbolically describe the political and social standing to which the scientific community desired following its own rehabilitation.^[7]

This rehabilitation suffered a setback during theAnti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign (1983–1984), whenBiao Qian labelled science fiction as "spiritual pollution." This led to authors such asYe Yonglie,Tong Enzheng, Liu Xingshi, andXiao Jianheng being condemned forslander and the publication of science-fiction in mainland China once again being prohibited indefinitely.^[8]

Liu Cixin's 1989 novelChina 2185 formed an important part of the "new wave" in Chinese science fiction.^[1]: 514 It portrays how the digital reanimation of Mao Zedong triggers a cybernetic uprising in a future China.^[1]: 507 Mao digital establish a cyber government named The Republic of Huaxia.^[1]: 507 The novel critiques both liberal democracy and the cultural conservatism shown by the Republic of Huaxia.^[1]: 515

In 1991, Yang Xiao, then the director of the magazineScientific Art and Literature which had survived the ban on science fiction during the 1980s by changing their name toStrange Tales and publishing non-fiction works, decided to run a science fiction convention inChengdu,Sichuan. Not only was this the first-ever international science fiction convention to be held in mainland China, it was also the first international event to be hosted in China since the student protests of 1989.^[9]Scientific Literature changed its name toScience Fiction World (科幻世界), and by the mid-1990s, had reached a peak circulation of about 400,000.^[9] Authors who came to prominence during the 1990s includeLiu Cixin,Han Song,Wang Jinkang,Xing He,Qian Lifang, andHe Xi. In particular, Liu, Han and Wang became popularly known as the 'Three Generals of Chinese Sci-fi'.^[10] As a genre, science fiction came to the fore when the 1999 national college entrance exam included the science fiction question, "What if memories could be transplanted?"^[11]

Wang Jinkang is the most prolific of the three, having published over 50 short stories and 10 novels. While working as a chassis engineer for oil rigs, he began writing short stories as a way to entertain his son and teach him scientific concepts, a focus he has maintained throughout his writing career. In an article published in theCommercial Press's bi-monthly magazine on Chinese culture,The World of Chinese,Echo Zhao (赵蕾) describes his writing as being pervaded with "a sense of heroic morality" that avoids the "grim finality" of an apocalyptic future, citing examples of clones with bumps on their fingers to distinguish them from non-clones and robots whose hearts explode when they desire life.^[10]

Liu Cixin's work has been especially well-received, with hisThree Bodies (三体) trilogy selling over 500,000 copies in China (as of the end of 2012).^[10] The books, which describe an alien civilization that invades earth over a vast span of time, have drawn comparisons to the works ofArthur C. Clarke by fellow science fiction authorFei Dao,^[12] while Echo Zhao describes Liu Cixin's writing as "lush and imaginative" with a particular interest in military technology.^[10]

Han Song, a journalist, writes darkly satirical novels and short stories which lampoon modern social problems. His novel2066: Red Star Over America deals with a United States declined into civil war and a China which has obtained superpower status through reliance on an intelligence called "Amando"; among its themes are nationalism and globalism.^[5]: 202 His short story collectionSubway which features alien abductions and cannibalism on a never-ending train ride, have been lauded for their sense of social justice.^[13] He has been quoted as saying, ""It’s not easy for foreigners to understand China and the Chinese. They need to develop a dialectical understanding, see all sides, just as we appreciate the 'yin' and the 'yang.' I hope to prevent tragedy in China, and in the world, with my writing. I don't think humans have rid themselves of their innate evil. It's just suppressed by technology. If there is a spark of chaos, the worst will happen. That goes for all people, whether Chinese or Western. We should keep thinking back to why terrible things have happened in history and not allow those things to happen again".^[10]

Hao Jingfang won theHugo Award for Best Novelette forFolding Beijing in 2016.

Meanwhile, in the area of film and television, works such as the science fiction comedyMagic Cellphone (魔幻手机) explored themes of time travel and advanced technology. On March 31, 2011, however theState Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) issued guidelines that supposedly strongly discouraged television storylines including "fantasy, time-travel, random compilations of mythical stories, bizarre plots, absurd techniques, even propagating feudal superstitions, fatalism and reincarnation, ambiguous moral lessons, and a lack of positive thinking".^[14] However, even with that numerous science fiction literature with those themes and elements have been published since, some of which have been compiled into an English-language anthology byKen Liu calledBroken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation.^[15] Liu's translations have been credited with significantly improving the English-language readers familiarity with Chinese sf.^[16]

Science fiction authors from mainland China, whose work has also been published in English or German, furthermore includeA Que (阿缺),Cheng Jingbo (程婧波),Fei Dao (飞氘),Gu Shi (顾适),Ling Chen (凌晨),Liu Yang (刘洋),Luo Longxiang (罗隆翔),Shuang Chimu (双翅目),Sun Wanglu (孙望路) andZhang Ran (张冉).

Following the defeat of theQing Dynasty in theFirst Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), the island ofTaiwan came under the sovereign rule to theEmpire of Japan who eventually instituted a policy of 'Japanization' that discouraged the use of Chinese language and scripts in Taiwan. When the island was ceded to theRepublic of China after the end ofWorld War II in 1945, the majority of Japanese colonialists were repatriated to Japan and theChinese Nationalist Party, the ruling party of the RoC, quickly established control of the island. This was to prove key to the survival of the RoC government, who were forced to move their capital to the island after their defeat by the communists in the Chinese Civil War. The CNP pursued a policy of rapid sinification which, in combination with an influx of mainland intellectuals, spurred the development of Chinese-language literature in Taiwan and along with it, science fiction.

Taiwanese science fiction authors includeWu Mingyi (吳明益),Zhang Xiaofeng (張曉風),Zhang Xiguo (张系国),Huang Hai (黃海),Huang Fan (黃凡),Ye Yandou (葉言都),Lin Yaode (林燿德),Zhang Dachun (張大春),Su Yiping (蘇逸平),Chi Ta-wei (紀大偉), Hong Ling (洪凌),Ye Xuan (葉軒),Mo Handu (漠寒渡),Yu Wo (御我), andMo Ren (莫仁).

In Chinese, Hong Kong's best known science fiction author is the prolificNi Kuang, creator of theWisely Series (衛斯理). More recently,Chan Koonchung's dystopian novelThe Fat Years about a near future mainland China has been compared toGeorge Orwell'sNineteen Eighty-Four andAldous Huxley'sBrave New World.^[17]Huang Yi is another well knownWuxia and science fiction author whosetime travel novelXun Qin Ji (Chinese:尋秦記) was adapted into a popular TV drama calledA Step into the Past byTVB.

Zhang Cao (張草) is a Malaysian-Chinese science fiction author who has published several novels in Chinese.

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• Cordwainer Smith's short stories and novel,Norstrilia, which is said to be based on the Chinese classicJourney to the West, feature a race of 'underpeople' bred out of animals to serve mankind whose struggle for independence has been argued to be an allegory of thecivil rights movement.Alan C. Elms, Professor of Psychology Emeritus,University of California, Davis, however argues that underpeople are meant to represent theHan Chinese who had been oppressed by the conqueringManchus during theQing dynasty, citing the author's experiences working withSun Yat Sen as a young man.^[18]
• An English translation of theTao Te Ching plays an important role inUrsula K. Le Guin's 1967 post-apocalyptic novelCity of Illusions. The novel also features a supposedly alien race called the Shing who suppress technological and social development on Earth, similar to the suppression of Western technology and ideas during theQing dynasty following a period of relative openness during theMing whenJesuit missionaries such asMatteo Ricci were allowed to live and teach in China.
• Although not strictly science fiction in that it lacks significant aberrations from the historical record,James Clavell'shistorical fiction seriesThe Asian Saga is intimately concerned with the role which modern technology played in the collision between the East and West in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• David Wingrove's multivolumeChung Kuo series takes place in an alternate timeline whereImperial China has survived into modern era and eventually takes over the entire world, establishing a future society with a strict racial hierarchy.
• Maureen F. McHugh's 1997 novel,China Mountain Zhang, takes place in an alternate future where America has gone through a socialist revolution while China has become the dominant world power.
• The 2002 American television showFirefly features a future space-based society in the year 2517 whereMandarin Chinese has become a common language.
• Cory Doctorow's 2010 young adult science fiction novelFor the Win features agold farmer fromShenzhen,China who joins forces with Leonard Goldberg, asinophile gamer who speaks Mandarin Chinese and uses the Chinese name 'Wei-Dong', to take on the mainland authorities and gold farming bosses.
• The 2012 American filmRed Dawn, a re-imagining of the1984 film by the same name, as originally filmed portrayed the invasion of theUnited States by thePeople's Liberation Army of thePRC due to a USdefault on Chinese-owned debt. In hopes of being able to market the film in mainland China, the country of origin for the invading army was later changed toNorth Korea using digital technology, and references to the storyline about debt were edited out of the final cut of the film.^[19]
• The titular computer virus in American authorNeal Stephenson's 2011 technothrillerReamde was developed by a crew of mainland Chinese basedgold farmers and a significant portion of the book takes place inXiamen,Fujian.
• The prolific short story writer Chinese-AmericanKen Liu has published numerous original English-language science fiction stories featuring Chinese characters and settings, exploring issues of tradition, modernity, development, and cultural differences between the East and West. Two of his stories have also been published in Chinese, and he has translated short stories byLiu Cixin,Chen Qiufan,Xia Jia andMa Boyong.

Mainland Chinese science fiction is restricted from covering certain themes due to restrictive government law andcensorship, which results inself-censorship. Some of the affected genres and themes includealternate history andtime travel, which can run afoul of the laws related to perceived lack of respect towards Chinese history. Concerns over censorship also resulted in theHugo controversy at the 81st World Science Fiction Convention.^[20][21][22] The resurgence of Chinese sci-fi is associated withsinofuturism, with writers exploring themes such as Western andOrientalist perceptions of a technological China and its potential hegemony.^[23][24]

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Joel Martinsen, a translator who works for the websiteDanwei.org, has promoted Chinese science fiction in English for a number of years, both on his blogTwelve Hours Later: Literature from the other side of the globe – Chinese SF, fantasy, and mainstream fiction^{[25][non-primary source needed]} and also on various websites around the Internet, often posting under the username 'zhwj'.^{[26][non-primary source needed]} Along withKen Liu andEric Abrahamsen, Martinesen translatedLiu Cixin's "Three Body" trilogy forChina Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation (CEPIT), with print and digital editions of the first two novels released in the first half of 2013 and the third in 2014.^[27]

The second issue of the literary monthlyChutzpah! edited byOu Ning contains a in-depth history of Chinese fiction compiled byKun Kun entitledSome of Us Are Looking at the Stars, and translations of Chinese science fiction authorsHan Song,Fei Dao,Chen Qiufan,Yang Ping into English, in addition to translations of English-language science fiction authors such asWilliam Gibson,Neal Stephenson,Paolo Bagicalupi, andJeff Noon into Chinese.^{[28][non-primary source needed]}

In 2012, the Hong Kong journalRenditions: A Chinese-English Translation Magazine issued a special double issue (Renditions No. 77 & 78^{[29][non-primary source needed]}) with a focus on science fiction, including works from both the early 20th century and the early 21st century. In March 2013, the peer-reviewed journalScience Fiction Studies released a special issue on Chinese Science Fiction, edited by Yan Wu and Veronica Hollinger.^{[30][non-primary source needed]}

Through theTor Books division,Macmillan Publishers publishes most of the English translated novels in the United States, including the entireThree Body series.^{[citation needed]} Worthy of note^{[according to whom?]} are also the entries on Chinese science fiction mainly written byJonathan Clements forThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.

In recent years, several anthologies of Chinese science fiction short stories have been published in English. These includeInvisible Planets (2016),Broken Stars (2020) andSinopticon (2021). Also published are three collections ofLiu Cixin's work:The Wandering Earth (2016),To Hold Up the Sky (2020), andA View from the Stars (2024). Additional translated Chinese SF short stories can be found in World SF story collections, such as those edited byLavie Tidhar.

In other European publishing markets, such as Italy, many translations are based on the English versions.^[31] While in the 2010s a few anthologies were translated from Chinese into Italian, in 2017 the Italian translation of Liu Cixin's三体 was translated from Ken Liu's English version.^{[citation needed]}

TheWorld Chinese Science Fiction Association, based in Chengdu, established the Nebula Awards (Chinese:星云奖;pinyin:xingyun jiang) – not to be confused with the U.S.Nebula Awards – in 2010. They are awarded yearly for Chinese-language works of science fiction published in any country. The winners are selected by a jury from a list nominees determined by public voting; in 2013, more than 30,000 votes were cast for 40 nominees.^[32][33]

Past winners include:

Best novel

• 2024:The City in the Well (井中之城) by Liu Yang^[34]
• 2023:Once Upon a Time in Nanjing by Tianrui Shuofu^[35]
• 2022:The New New Newspaper Press: Shadow of the Enchanted Metropolis by Liang Qingsan^[36]
• 2021:Across the Rings of Saturn by Xie Yunning^[37]
• 2020:The Stars (群星) by Qi Yue^[38]
  • Conferral of the 11th round of Chinese Nebula awards was postponed until 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[39]
• 2019:The Azure Tragedy by Hui Hu^[40]
• 2018:Gate of Memories by Jiang Bo^[41]
• 2017:Exorcism (驱魔) byHan Song^[42]
  • Exorcism is a sequel to Han's 2016 novelHospital
• 2014:Ruins of Time byBaoshu^[43]
• 2013:The Waste Tide byChen Qiufan^[33]
• 2012:Be with Me byWang Jinkang^[32]
• 2011:Death's End (死神永生) byLiu Cixin^[44]
• 2010:Cross by Wang Jinkang, andHumanoid Software byAlbert Tan^[45]

Best novella

• 2024:The Fleeting Gravity of Words (失重的语言) by Zhou Wen^[34]
• 2023:The Girl with a Restrained and Released Life by Zhou Wen^[35]
• 2022:The Eye of Saishiteng by Wanxiang Fengnian^[36]
• 2021:The Persons who are Trapped in Time by Cheng Jingbo^[37]
• 2020:Celestial Priest (天象祭司) byBaoshu^[38]
  • Conferral of the 11th round of Chinese Nebula awards was postponed until 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[39]
• 2019:Flowers on the Other Side by A Que^[40]
• 2018:The Monster Reunion byChen Qiufan^[41]
• 2017:Farewell, Doraemon by A Que^[42]
• 2012:Excess of the World byZhang Xiguo^[32]
• 2010: not awarded^[45]

Best short story

• 2024: "Let the White Deer Roam" (且放白鹿) by Cheng Jingbo^[34]
• 2023: "The Stars without Dream" by Chi Hui^[35]
• 2022: "Lunar Bank" by Liang Ling^[36]
• 2021: "Preface to the Reprint Edition of ‘Overture 2181’" by Gu Shi^[37]
• 2020: "In This Moment, We Are Happy" (这一刻我们是快乐的) byChen Qiufan^[38]
  • Conferral of the 11th round of Chinese Nebula awards was postponed until 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[39]
• 2019: "The Kites of Jinan" by Liang Qingsan^[40]
• 2018: "Memories of Chengdu" byBaoshu^[41]
• 2017: "Floating Life" (浮生) byHe Xi^[42]
• 2014: "Smart Life" by Ping Zongqi^[43]
• 2012:G stands for Goddess byChen Qiufan^[32]
• 2011:Rebirth Brick byHan Song^[44]
• 2010:Before the Fall by Cheng Jingbo

Another award for Chinese-language works of science fiction and science fantasy. The award was first set up in 1985, and was exclusively organized by the Science Fiction World Magazine after its first session. Before 1991 the award was awarded intermittently, and it became an annual event since 1991. The 27th Galaxy Award was given out and the winner list was published in public.^{[citation needed]}

Past winners include:

Best novel

• 2015: "Tian Nian" (天年) byHe Xi

Best novella

• 2015:"The Way of Machines" (機器之道) byJiang Bo
• 2015: "When The Sun Falls" (太陽墜落之時) byZhangran

Best Short Story

• 2015:"Good Night Melancholy" (晚安憂鬱) byXia Jia
• 2015:"Balin" (巴鱗) byChen Qiufan
• 2015: "Yingxu Zhizi" (應許之子) byMs Quanru

• SF Aus China (SF from China) by YE Yonglie and Charlotte Dunsing (Ed.), 1984, Goldmann Verlag, Munich
• Science Fiction from China. by Wu Dingbo and Patrick D. Murphy (Ed.), 1989, Praeger Press, NY.
• Celestial Empire: The Emergence of Chinese Science Fiction by Nathaniel Isaacson, 2017, Wesleyan University Press, distributed by University Press of New England
• Space to create in Chinese Science Fiction by Robert G. Price, 2017, Ffoniwch y Meddyg, Kaarst, Germany.

• China entry in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
• "Science Fiction, Globalization, and China"
• Science Fiction Network(in Chinese)
• "Science Fiction World" magazine official website(in Chinese)
• China’s first sci-fi movie: Death Ray on Coral Island – Stills and stories from China's first sci-fi movie
• Yueqiu Zhimindi Xiaoshuo (月球殖民地小說 "Lunar Colony")(in Chinese)

• Chinese science fiction
• Chinese literature

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